Nautae
Summary The seas are vast and ominous, a place where many secrets lie, some of which are waiting to be discovered to this day. One of these secrets, remaining protected by the tides, are what some may refer to as the most ancient and wisest of races, the Nautae. These whimsical fish-people have kept to themselves throughout history, though in recent times have taken to emerging to the rest of the world, having discovered their ability to shed their scales and walk amongst the other races. Physical Characteristics In their aquatic form, the Nautae appear as humanoids with a slender, almost serpentine torso, and thin arms and feet. Fins protrude from their limbs and parts of their sides and back.They also possess a tail which starts from the back of the waist down. The Nautae also have webbed ears, and webbing between both their long, thin fingers and toes to help them swim. The scales are typically shiny and come in different hues of blue or green, such as teal or cyan, as well as grayscale. When in their land form, two humanoid legs are evident with a vast array of randomly assorted scales that are similar to that of their tails. Their build is similar to that of a human's, albeit having a more curvier form and sometimes even being able to develop muscles stronger than human muscles. Both in land and aquatic form, they have scales dotting their typically flat faces and almost serpentine eyes in which the iris will commonly match the shade of their scales. Additionally, the Nautae have rouge gills carved deeply into their necks in both forms. They can live for up to 600 years. Although painful, their most characteristic ability would be the ability to shift from their aquatic forms into a humanoid form, complete with legs, though this process involves them having to painfully tear their scales off or melt them like wax. Their scales are hardened, almost like armor, and though their human-esque skin is rough, it is very soft and squishy compared to their scales. Though they generally have muscles stronger than that of a human's, their strongest feature would be their powerful tails which allow them the gift of becoming the most agile of races when underwater. On land, they are only slightly more agile than a human, though the rest of their senses are heightened to the extreme, especially their greatly sensitive ears and eyes, sometimes painfully so. In their aquatic form, their rouge gills allow them to breathe through the water. In their land form, their gills work to far lesser degree outside of water, but they are able to breathe as a mammal does through nose or mouth. They reach breeding age at 70. Mental Characteristics The Nautae tend to be wary of those that dwell on land, due to their kin having been speared and slaughtered many times in the past. Nautae are not a hostile or warmongering race. They do not seek conflict with others, though they do tend to be territorial. It is well known to sailors that those who enter uninvited into precarious waters with Nautae around have a very real chance of being attacked. Despite that, in reality, Nautae vary as much as human cultures in their aggressiveness, with some being extremely defensive of their territories and others being very docile. In terms of knowledge and learning, Nautae tend to excel in most fields equally. In fact, they consider the pursuit of knowledge to be a cultural duty in order to honor their ancestors who furthered their survival in the perilous oceans. Nautae as both individuals and as a race prefer to balance out their knowledge in many different fields. An individual Nautae may not know as much as a professional in one field, but they do hold a decent amount of knowledge in just about everything available. Of course, they can still choose to focus and excel at specific fields. Nautae also have a knack for language and musical arts. They have been known to introduce strange and exotic instruments not found on the surface, as well as enchanting musical pieces. They are able to quickly pick up the language of other races and cultures, though this is more of listening and recognition than actually speaking. They may be able to understand what other races say, but they may still struggle to form their own sentences in a foreign language. History Many decades passed by as the Nautae remain submerged beneath layers of treacherous seawater, hidden from the rest of the world. The odd sighting would occur, and the odd ship would sink, but the Nautae were merely a myth, a story for the smallest of children. The years were not wasted for the Nautae, however. They spent their time developing both their culture and their magical potential, finding ways to exist on land in order to discover the world around and the creatures which they had feared. Many Nautae, despite the anguish of switching forms, decided to investigate the Humans as well, clambering up onto rocks and withstanding the heat of the sun. With the race beginning to integrate itself with the society that had stumbled upon them, the myth became a reality. Health The Nautae live for quite long, typically to around 700 years, though a tiny portion have been able to live for thousands. They reach breeding age at 70, though they will appear the equivalent of 20 for humans. Due to their natural diet of raw meats, an adaptation of living in the seas, they have developed an immunity to food-borne illnesses such as salmonella. However, as the Merfolk live beneath the waves, dependent upon the water’s sanitary status, they may be more susceptible to other illnesses that spread via fluids, such as cholera. With their innate Aquatic form, they will typically heal at a fast rate and are less likely to develop surface diseases, though this is untrue for the land form as the change in environment usually causes related illnesses such as colds and fevers when they go without submerged in water for extended periods of time exceeding 12 hours. On land, they are also unable to heal as fast and will often need the amount of medical care and attention as a human would for the more serious injuries. Politics They are often territorial over their habitats, and will often partake in politics in order to defend their homes. They can be violent and shrewd in their language, often passive-aggressive in debates, stubborn to gain their way however will always bow to their Elders out of respect. Culture & Religion The Nautae live in families of large clusters known as a pod, usually consisting of the mother, father, and a great number of children. Upon reaching the breeding age of 70, they will leave their current pod and search for a mate. A female will typically sit upon a rock in areas populated mainly by Nautae, singing enchanting songs until a male will become bewitched by her voice, causing the two to become partners until one dies and the other must search for yet another mate. Being the leader of the family, the mother will typically do the hunting whilst leaving the protection of the family to the father. Strangely, despite the caring and elegant nature usually shown from the Nautae, they will leave food for their children to fight to the death over. In the span of time between birth and maturity, a large pod containing dozens of children may shrink down to an average of five siblings, though there can be more or less depending on the generosity of both the parents and the siblings. The Nautae, worshiping the pompous and whimsical god which had created them, will often show their affection in ways such as dancing and singing ballads of love to each other. They find the physical contact of another member of their race to be far too intimate and it is often only in their old age that they will touch. The Nautae have complete religious freedom, however can often follow the same religions as the leaders of their pod.